A solid weekend at Knockhill for Honda Racing UK
KnockhillThe Honda Racing UK team have enjoyed a solid weekend in Scotland for the fourth round of the Bennetts British Superbike Championship at Knockhill, with Glenn Irwin, Ryo Mizuno, Takumi Takahashi and Tom Neave scoring points across each of the three races aboard the CBR1000RR-R Fireblade SP.
Glenn enjoyed a brace of top 10 finishes in sunny conditions at the 1.27-mile circuit, finishing eighth and sixth after making huge steps forward at the Scottish track. In the final race of the day Glenn was in the mix early on battling with his BSB rivals for a podium finish. Trading places with Tommy Bridewell, Josh Brookes and Danny Buchan, Glenn eventually crossed the line sixth keeping himself in Showdown contention in the overall standings in sixth place with 134 points.
Tom Neave managed to turn his weekend around following a heavy crash in Friday's practice to finish today's races firmly in the points. Building back his confidence in yesterday's opening race, the Superbike rookie had a solid day today finishing 13th in Race 2 and 14th in the final race having come through from 21st.
Ryo Mizuno and Takumi Takahashi also made huge improvements across the weekend each claiming championship points in today's races. Having just missed out on the points yesterday Ryo finished 15th in Race 2, but the final race came to an early end after a rose joint on the gear link broke, forcing him to retire on the ninth lap. Meanwhile Takumi came home just outside the points in Race 2 in 16th having come through the pack from 20th on the grid, but it was the last race of the day which gifted a point as he crossed the line in 15th.
There's now a short break in the Bennetts British Superbike Championship, which resumes on 22-24 July with round five taking place at Brands Hatch in Kent.
I have really enjoyed riding the Fireblade this weekend, it's been so refreshing to come back to BSB after the TT. I think for all us we've had a lot of success this year at various events and to come back here and continue to be strong, after flying about road racing is important for me. It's a huge step forward at Knockhill compared to last year, so I'm happy. I threw the kitchen sink at it to get Bridewell at the end. I want to say a big thanks to Honda Racing UK, it's been a fun weekend; Harv said to me 'carry on what you learnt at the TT to BSB', the riding is so different but I'm calm at the TT as you can't afford to be any other way, and I think that approach this weekend has been evident throughout the whole garage and it's been a fun weekend.
I made a bad start in today's opening race and lost a lot of positions. Throughout the race my pace improved and I tried to recover what I lost at the start but it wasn't quite enough. In Race 3, I think I had the best ride of the weekend and was able to finish 15th, but the issue is at the start and the pace afterwards, I dropped back places but was then able to get back through. It's something we need to work on and I'll try improve at the next round.
We had a good race today in the second race and I'm happy to have scored some points at Knockhill. In the final race I had to retire due to an issue, which was a shame to end the weekend in this way. We are making step-by-step improvements and will continue to work hard.
Today has been a good day, the second race was a bit of a gifted result if I'm honest after a few people crashed out, but the final race was a hard-earned 14th place. I dug in and made a good start to come through from 21st on the grid and to get 14th is a high achievement for me considering how this weekend started out. I did exactly what I set out to do today, which was take it step by step and build confidence back after a few poor rounds. We've just started to build back our momentum and I'm enjoying riding the bike again. We have a nice little break now and I'm looking forward to coming back for Brands Hatch next month.